Introduction
War-poet Wilfrid Gibson never served abroad, and was in fact accepted for the army only at his fifth application, in 1917. These short verses do not come from his war-themed collections (though many reflect that subject) but from a set remembering Northumberland, the county of his birth in Hexham.
HEATHERLAND and bentland,*
Black land and white,
God bring me to Northumberland,
The land of my delight.
Land of singing waters,
And words from off the sea,
God bring me to Northumberland,
The land where I would be.
Heatherland and bentland,
And valley rich with corn,
God bring me to Northumberland,
The land where I was born.
Bent-grass (Agrostis) is a very common kind of stiff, coarse grass. Bentland is an area of bent-grass, or simply a term for heathland in general.
Précis
Wilfrd Gibson writes nostalgically of Northumberland, the county in which he was born, and wishing he might return there. His memories are of the countryside, the broad moorland and the fields, and also of the coast, implying that it was overlooking the sea that his verses often came to him. (50 / 60 words)
Wilfrd Gibson writes nostalgically of Northumberland, the county in which he was born, and wishing he might return there. His memories are of the countryside, the broad moorland and the fields, and also of the coast, implying that it was overlooking the sea that his verses often came to him.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 45 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, may, must, or, otherwise, ought, until, whether.
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Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 My. Rich. Sea.
2 God. White. Would.
3 Born. Bring. Delight.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Confusables Find in Think and Speak
In each group below, you will find words that are similar to one another, but not exactly the same. Compose your own sentences to bring out the similarities and differences between them, whether in meaning, grammar or use.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
Adjectives Find in Think and Speak
For each word below, compose sentences to show that it may be used as an adjective. Adjectives provide extra information about a noun, e.g. a black cat, a round table, the early bird etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Black. 2 Delightful. 3 White. 4 Rich.
Variations: 1.show whether your adjective can also be used as e.g. a noun, verb or adverb. 2.show whether your adjective can be used in comparisons (e.g. good/better/best). 3.show whether your adjective can be used in attributive position (e.g. a dangerous corner) and also in predicate position (this corner is dangerous).
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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